Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20240713

Amy students across the globe are walking out of classes today in another round of climate strikes. A major march is set for here in madrid tonight, the site of the u. N. Climate summit. We will speak to climate strikers from uganda and chile as well as one of the organizers of an alternative Climate Summit that opens tomorrow here in madrid. It is called then we will look at how some of spains largest polluters are sponsoring the u. N. Climate summit. Tuba two big spanish gas utilities have both paid billion euros to become diamond sponsors of cop25. What is shocking is the spanish gave them 90 tax break for the sponsorship. This allows the companies to hide the fact there emissions are causing runaway Climate Change. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from madrid, spain, for the next week during the u. N. Climate summit. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has instructed the chairs of key house committees to begin drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. Pelosi s said trumps actions to seek foreieign help in the 2020 elections strikes at the very heart of the constitution. What is atcracy is stake. The president leaves us no he is but to act because trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit. The president has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security, and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections. His actions are in defiance of the vision of our founders and the oath of office that he takes to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States. Amy house Speaker Nancy Pelosis announcement sets the stage for a full house vote on impeachment that could take place beforere chrisistmas. Hours after making her announcement, pelosi was asked by reporter at a News Conference if she hates president trurump. This is about the constitution of the United States and the fact that leads to the president s violation of his oath of office. As a catholic,c, i resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I dont hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a hearart full of love and always pray for the president and i still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time. So dont mess with me when it comes to words like that. Amy House Speaker pelosiis acactions, as the House Judiciay Committee says it will convene another hearing on monday to allow lawyers to formally present evidence in the impeachment inquiry, which centers on how President Trump withheld military aid to ukraine in order to pressure the ukrainian president to investigate trumps political rival joe biden and his son hunter. President ial candidate and former Vice President joe biden lashed out at a town hall in iowa thursday after an audience member suggested biden help his son hunter get a lucrative job in ukraine. Hunter biden had been on the board of the Ukrainian Gas Company burisma and republicans have been spreading debunked conspiracy theories about hunters position. This is a retired farmer from iowa. , but you, on the other hand saint your son over there to get a job and work for gas company that he had no experience with gas or nothing. Access for the president. So youre selling access to the president just like he was. You are a damn liar, man. That is not true. I have e seen on the tv. You have seen on tv . [indiscernible] let it go. Amy that isis former Vice President t joe biden lashing ot at the town hall in iowa thurursday. The pentagon is considering sending thousands more troops to the e middle east to counter ir. The wall street journal reports upup to 14,000 more u. S. Troops could be deployed. The potential deployment comes as the united ststates claims in has transferred shortrange missiles into o iraq. Saudi arabia has taken the worlds momost profitable e comy public. The stateowned oil giant saudi aramco raised a record 25. 6 billion in its initial public offering. When trading begins, the company will be valued at 1. 7 trillion, making it the most valuable listed company in the world. More than 140,000 people around the world died from measles last year amid a surge in the number of c cases of the e preventable disease partially caused by misinformation about vaccines. The vast majority t the vtimsms were children under the age of five. The new figures come as the Pacific Island nation of samoa has arrested an antivaccination campaigner amid a massive outbreak of measles that has already killed over 60 people, mostly young children. At least 62 people have died after a boat capsisized in the Atlantic Ocean o off the coastsf the west african nation of mauritania. The boat was headed to Spains Canary islands. It was carrying over 150 refugees when it ran out of fuel and sank on wednesday. A shocking video obtained by propublica shows the last hours of the life of 16yearold indigenous guatemalan Asylum Seeker Carlos Gregorio hernandez vasquez. He was found dead by his cellmate in a texas Border Patrol holding cell back in may. A warning to our viewers, this foototage is disturbining. Hernrnandez vazquez z had been diagnosesed with the flu and a fever ofof 103 when he w was pun the e holding cell witith anothr sick b boy. A nurse recocommended he be sent to the emergenency room if hisis conditions wororsened. Instead, Border Patrol l left hm in a cold, cemement quarantined cell whehere he was found deadae following morning inin a pooofof blood next to a toilet. An agent checked on hernandezz vasquez three timeses while t te boboy was dydying, but propublia reports the e customs and Border Protection agent failed to perform adequate checks on the boy and never reported anything alarming with the boys health status. The video also shows that cbp lied a about how the boys body was found. In france, hundreds of thousands of workers are continuing their strike today in protest of french president emmanuel macrons proposed pension plan. Over 800,000 people poured into the streets as the strikes thursday first day shuttered schools across the country and canceled hundreds of trains and flights. This is french pensioner and former construction worker, michel laurent. Today i demonstrate for the next generation because when you see we have worked all our lives, ive worked 43 years, i i doubt young people will have a pension like we currently have. If they want it, they will have to work until they are 70 years old. It is untenable. Amy uber says it received over 3000 reports of Sexual Assault in the United States last year. The wall streetbacked ride hailing app has repeatedly been criticized for not taking passenger safety seriously, and for ignoring reports of rape and Sexual Assault by its drivers. Regulators in london have refused to renew ubers license to operate in the city, citing several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk. Uber c can still operate in lonn while it appeals the decision. The guardian reveals congresswomen ilhan omar of minnesota a and Rashida Tlaib of michigan were tatargeted by a mysterious israelibased Facebook Group in a farright campaign to spread misinformation and islamophobic attacks against the two congresswomen. Ilhan omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first two muslim women to serve in congress. They have been subject to racist insults from President Trump and islamophobic rants from Trump Supporters and o other political opponents. They have both also received violent death threats. A retired new York Police Officer has revealed the police dedepartments transit district4 in brooklyn, new york, encouraged officers to arrrrest black k and latino men in exchae for rewards. The testimony is part of a discrimination lawsuit filed by sgt. Edwin raymond and three other officers who say they were forced to apprehend more black and latino men than other racial and ethnic groups. The officer also said asian, jewish and white people who were referred to as soft targets were not to be cuffed and that all officers in that district were required to fill a collar quota. Pierre maximilien retired in 2015 after b being retaliated against for not following these orders. Nearly 700,000 people are poised to lose access to food stamps, after the Trump Administration gave its final approval to a rule change proposed by the agriculture department. The Trump Administration gave its stamp of approval despite receiving over 140,000 letters opposing the highly unpopular rule change in recent months. The university of North Carolina is facing student and faculty protests after the school secretly agreed to provide 2. 5 million to a neoconfederate organization to o preserve and display a confederate statue knowasas silt sasam. Last year tiracisprprotesrs toppled the atue whi h had stood on t u unc cpel l hi campus f o over centntur itics are accing the hool helpingo subside white nationists. Nigean secrepolice he rearrest the pronent nigeriamericajournali and activistmoyele sowore juju hours after r he was releaeasedn babail after fouour months inn dedetention. Sowore is a form president ial candidate in nigeria and t founder of the new yorksesed news o outlet saharara reporter. Sowos codefendant olawale bakarere was also rereleased on thursdsday and then n rearrestd today. Amnenesty internatational rentny declared both men to be prisoners of consciee. To see our interviews, go to democracynow. Org. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from madrid, spain, where the United Nations Climate Change conference, known as cop25, began monday and will continue through next week as environmental leaders from around the world gather to negotiate Global Solutions to the Climate Crisis. The summit was supposed to be held in santiago, chile, but the countrys rightwing president Sebastian Pinera canceled the conference just over a month ago amid massive protests against economic inequality and austerity. Spains p president pedro sanchz then offered to host the summit. Activists have cononverged on madrid for the summit and are hosting an alternative summit of cumbre social por el clima, the social summit for the climate. The alternatative summmmit has n ororganized by social justiciced environmental groups to draw attention to the ongoioing polititical repressionon in chi, corporate influence on the Climate Summit, spains own failure to address the Climate Crisis, and the e eurocentrism f the clclimate confererence wh is beingng held in europe for te third yearar in a row. The alternative summit begins saturday morningng, tomorrow, at the university of f madrid and will kicick off tonighght with a climate march through the city center. We are broadcasting from the convergence space that activists are using as a hub for their organizing. Its a union hall and former monastery that today is covered in colorful protest art and bustling with organizers that have pulled the alternative summit together with only a few months notice. Thee are right here in social summit for the climate with one of the o organizers, tm kucharz. He is a journalist and activist with ecologists in action. It is great to be with you. Tom, as we sit here, this place is surrounded by posters. Maybe we could do a broad view of the wall. It says the plaza of the people. Save the earth. Colonized. That is a very important issue. We have a huge issue that millions of people who were slaves from africa to america and never have been justice about that. The issue of antiracism and anticolonization is very important for the march today. It is at 6 00 in the afternoon. Hopefully, thousands of people will gather. Amy tell us about this place that we are in. It is a former monastery . Yes, it was built more than 400 years ago. Fortunately, the trade unions said we could have it for two weeks to make gatherings and prepare the march and actions of the different groups who are involved in the preparation of the activities for these two weeks. Like fridays for future, Extinction Rebellion, and many environmental and human rights groups, trade unionists, and many solidarity groups are fighting around the world for justice. Both environmental and social justice. Amy tell us about this social summit for the climate, where it will be held from the university to hear to where else . Talk about the 850 groups who organize the space in a very short period of timime, since yu guys just got the summit a few months ago. Social summit was organized in less than four weeks. First of all, it is a solidarity action with the people in chile, with all of the people in the world who are suffering crimes against humanity, or suffering repression, who are suffering the crimes of Transnational Corporation and corrupt states were only doing business and politics in favor of a very small minority, which are the big businesses who are also guttering here in the official Climate Summit. We have heard in news at the beginning. Also in spain, we have a huge situation of an justice, unemployment. For us, the issues of social injustice, the problem of corruption, the problem of huge economic and social an environment a crisis all over the world brings us together. Social movements, trade unions, environmental groups, but also social Justice Groups from all over the world. It is, first of all, a denouncement also of the repression of the right wing government of chile against the people in chile. We are very connected with the movement. Today, the march activity will be at the same time as the march in santiango. We will be marching together. We connecting also with organizers of the Civil Society space held at the same time in santiango, also criticizing the farce in the theater in the official summit because they are not the solution to the huge Climate Emergency. We, the people come are the solution. Amy talk about health unit of getting the u. N. Summit. Originally it was brazil and when the far right president canceled the cop and then chile ticket but because of the protest come the rightwing president there canceled it. Sanchez of spain picked this up very quickly. Talk about the significance for him and now the right wing government that runs madrid about what it means for them, who actually campaigned against climate regulations, its Major Campaign focus in the last week. Exactly. We should know that spain is one of the European Countries which theost responsible for Greenhouse Gas emissions for the past decades. So spain has a ecological and historical debt with the global south, completely dependent on imports of fossil fuels. The big Transnational Corporations from spain are committing crimes and Human Rights Violations all the time and are very responsiblele for e natural destruction all over the world. So spain is very responsible for the Climate Emergency. And weve had social and conservative right wing government who are very responsible. They were not caring sufficiently about the Climate Emergency. And even if they bring the official Climate Summit from the u. N. To hear, it was a kind of political shift tell them to get for the last elections we had very recently on november 10. Actually, the spanish social democratic government has shown in the last year that they were theyre not really willing to chahange the economic and Energy Policy and spain and that means also completely shift, paradigm shift of the Development Model in your which is completely irresponsible and a root cause of the Climate Emergency all over the world. That is why we are feeling that it is greenwashing both of the darknal very gray and policies of the Spanish Government, greenwashing of the right wing government in madrid because only some months ago, this madrid, from the Rightwing Party who is denying Climate Change, who was saying he would eliminate all the Environmental Policies which the leftwing government put in place only some months ago like low emission scheme to try to stop entering many cars into the center. We should know spain is one of the most polluting countries in the world. Peoplple whoy 40,000 are dying, so have premature deaths, 40,000 a year. That means in madrid, it is about more than 3000 people dying prematurely because of the air contamination. And that is mostly because of this huge traffic. We sustainable transport system. Amy so you have the previous mayor, whoalist pushed for the madrid central, this low emission zone so you dont have this mass traffic jam all day. We still have them. Amy as much. And then you have the new mayor who actually made his total campaign about gettiting rid of these restrictions. And just before the Climate Summit, he says that is the best thing he had ever done. So now he is trying to greenwashing completely his very and responsible campaign he did and the Popular Party is very fulfilling the most polluting companies in spain with public money. Thatat is why spain gets hundres and thousands of millions of euros to the energy companies, to the Oil Companies come to the Gas Companies over the last years. That is why we have a real problem that is very difficult to get out of the fossil feel industry right now. you stopped ecologists ececologists and action stop the mayor from getting rid of the low emission zone . Not alone. We have a very interesting platform created in the city center. There are dozens of organizations involved in the platform to defend madrid central. And collective work and tens of thousands of people poured into the streets just after the local elections to ask not emanate madrid central, this low emission scheme. That is a link for Climate Justice not only in spain but the whole world. That is why those people are fighting to get madrid rid of car traffic and air contamination come also fighting together with many people in the ,orld against air contamination silly system of putting public money into the car industry and the oil industry which and are very responsible for the mining and Human Rights Violations all over the world. We have it in middle east and also latin america. Amy talk about nationally. We have just arrived in madrid stockholm. The president , the Prime Minister won a snap election recently, pedro sanchez. He is in the midst of negotiating with ramos. About the role and the increasing power of the extreme right group vox and how that plays in here, whether we are talking about the environment or gender violence. The extreme right party is coming out of the split of the right wing scheme which won the Popular Party. Theres a huge limit impunity ins and, so the crimes against community committed by spanish fascism we still have hundreds of thousands of people all over spain and people are looking for the bodies of their families. So that is a very anxious system. And from this we have a very fascist legacy in the political system. But because of the corruption scandals, because i bribing public party is one of the most corruptive party in the world, the rightwing Political Party it it up to neoliberal vox, the extreme right, and the pp is the ocular party. Molding also a growing for this extreme right party, which is very dangerous and very similar to things happening with trump in the u. S. , with italy, france, and germany. It is very dangerous because to the right wing groups, trying to make attacks on migrants come on refugees, and maybe there is a new fear toward these very extreme fascist groups to make attacks against migrants like we had this attack with a bomb this week. Amy our grenade was just thrown ivea Residential Center mainly unaccompanied minors, refugees from other countries, and also orphans here in spain. That is an attack which we can explain there is a growing institutional racism, recognized by both the right wing Popular Party in the social democrats because, unfortunately, the social democratic government is talking about human rights in the official climate s summit. But at the end, they are responsible for migration policies which brings the deaths of thousands of people in the military you just mentioned the migrants and refugees trying to get to the canary islands. Amy 62 people dying. And that is happening all the time. Amy they try toto make it to spain, the canary islands. But this is happepening all e time because t the Spanish Government, together with the European Union, are pulling hundreds of millions of public money toto finance the military and the police in morocco, libya, and elsewhere to stop refugees and migrants getting to europe. And then they are responsible for this very criminal policy which makes people dying all the time in the mediterranean sea. That is why we are talking about one of the biggest mass graves in the world. So very similar to the very criminal aggression policies of trump and the mexican border. Amy y very quickly, we startedy you talking about decolonization and how that relates to climate, sitting in front of a big sign that you have here at this social summit for the climate that says lets decolonize. Explain that more fully. It means there is a deep, historic impunity of the crimes committed by europe in colonial time. Both the slave trade, but also millions of Indigenous People in america. These historical crimes against been wes never will not accept it. That is why it is so important for Indigenous People, migrant and refugees on the forefront of the demonstration today. But those indigenous communities in the front line communities all over the world are also fighting against fossil fuels, major megaprojects, the same spanish and Transnational Corporations who are financing the official Climate Summit. So this is completely and just policies. Unfortunately, the European Union the spanish social democratic government are very responsible for those very unjust situations. Amy tom kucharz, journalist, activist with ecologists in action, one of the leading environmental groups organizing the alternative Climate Summit. Thank you so much for welcoming us into your space, rapidly put together in the last few weeks since u. N. U. N. Spain took on the Climate Summit. When we come back, we will be joined by two fridays for future youth activists who are here for the u. N. Summit. They will join activists around the world today in the climate march. Stay with h us. [ [music break]k] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Broadcasting lilive from madrid, spain, at the second week of the u. N. Climate s summt begins. Madrid city hall announced it will roll but plansns to restrit traffic in the low emissions zone amid protests from a conservative and centerright coalition. The initial plan and as madrid central was introduced by the former leftist mayor. We walked over to the social media summit that we are here in today to meet with people who are going to be out on the streets in just a matter of a few hours as thousands of people are planning this first major march in brazil in madrid come around the u. N. Climate summit. Students across the globe have been walking out of classes today and another round of climate strikes. Here in spain, the 16yearold swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has arrived imagery to take part in todays strike as well as a major march set for 6 00 p. M. Local time. Greta began the Climate Strike Movement last year when she started skipping school every friday to stand in front of the swedish parliament, demanding action to prevent catastrophic Climate Change. Her protest spread, quickly going global. Greta was mobbed by reporters earlier today after she arrived in madrid on a train from portugal. On tuesday, greta arrived in lisbon, portugal, after traveling for three weeks across the atlantic in a 48foot catamaran, refusing to fly because of the high Carbon Footprint of air travel. We are joined now by two youth climate strikers. Hilda Flavia Nakabuye is the founder of fridays for future uganda and Angela Valenzuela is the coordinator with fridays for future in chile where this years u. N. Climate summit had been scheduled but massive protests against neoliberalism forced the chilean government to cancel the talks. We welcome you to democracy now hilda, you came from just meeting with Greta Thunberg . Yep. Amy you have come from all the way from uganda for this. Talk about fridays for future uganda and why this is such an important issue to you. Ugandaters for future in , we were just a few strikers and now it is a very big movement. We have around 25,000 people striking the Global Climate strikes. Issue forry important us because it is our future. We either do something now or we dont have a future. Amy so talk about the effects of the Climate Crisis in uganda. The effects of the Climate Crisis in uganda are visible. We face that every day. We have so much floods that are killing people. Recently, there were heavy rain falls and many people died because of that. There have been risising temperatures in the past few months in uganda that dried peoples plantations because the culture is the backbone of uganda and people are going hungry. Amy who are the biggest contributors to the Climate Crisis that you think and uganda . And who are you trying to hold accountable and is it inside the country or elsewhere . It is both inside and outside. As people in you and a uganda should be responsible for our actions and activities because some of the activities that are done in uganda also contribute to the effects of Climate Change. We are aware that most of the effects of Climate Change are from other European Countries because we contribute very little percentage to the effects. But i think it is also our responsibility as people in uganda to take on the action. Amy angela, youve just come from chile. It is so interesting that this march is about to take place here in spain. If there is going to be a simumultaneous march in chile. You are going to host the u. N. E, but the protest led to the cancellation. Talk about the significance of this. Bribes for future in chile have been mobilizing for whole year, hoping people in chile will wake up. It is inspiring to see the whole inementnt that has started october come the social crisis, people woke up and but at the same time, to see were getting all of the repression from the state and Human Rights Violations that are happening until today. I think it was partly a move to change the cup from sent . To madrid. Tothe cop from santiango madrid. It has been shocking for me to participate going inside and saying all of the greenwashing that already knew was going to happen but now it is also about human rights. Wasspeech that pinera said terrible. Amy the president who canceled the cop in chile. I think if it was going to take place in santiango, he was forced to listen to people and try to solve the situation and a more democratic way. But he was not willing to do that. That is clear. At the same time, i feel this needed to happen in chile. It is inspiring to see all the people very empowered. And now we have the chance to write a new constitution to get rid of spinach at pinochets constitution. Amy are you sorry he canceled the cop . Reshocked when he announced it . You had hundreds of thousands of people in the streets protesting austerity, protesting inequality. He cancel but the apex summit and the cop. I have mixed feelings. I dont have one position. From one site is like you see andpeople are empowered took down massive projects that have been planned for a long time that were very meaningful. People are empowered they could have that impact. On the others, i come from the social like, the environmental movement. We have been pushing for awareness and these movements for the whole year, so it was a shock. Bad. L felt our president was not willing to listen to people and have an open dialogue. Had theefully, opportunity to open a different space, like the social summit happening still in santiango. Amy explained that. Here the u. N. Climate summit, the social summit for the climate is s starting tomorrow. Youre also having an alternative Climate Summit in chile anyway,y, in santiango. Yeah, like, now we are responding to the social context. For example, it was supposed to be focused on the Climate Crisis, but we are embracing everything for the last two months in chile. Now that we have a chance for writing a new constitution and voting for in april, this is a debate on how to include a shift in our paradigm and using the constitution on how, like, the social demands that are basic minimumwageare, very basic human rights can be sustained by a paradigm shift like a new model that is not pushing people to its limits and also leading us to a climate breakdown. Amy so talk about the link between climate catastrophe and human rights and Human Rights Violations in chile. For example, the Indigenous People and what people are facing. Can you repeat the question . Amy talk about the connection between the climate catastrophe that we are all facing the Climate Crisis and Human Rights Violations in chile, particularly around the rights, for example, of Indigenous People. In chile, the Indigenous People, for centuries, have been facing oppression from the state. Human rights violations. I think we have to learn from them in order to cope with the Climate Crisis, to have a different paradigm, to have answers that we need to look at in respect. What is been interesting in the protest, there are many indigenous. That is a sign we need to redefine our culture. Were looking back to our roots for answers. That is super inspiring. I also wanted to touch on the Human Rights Violations tied with the Climate Crisis and the fossil fuel industry. Something that is very huge in chiles we have sacrificed zones. These are communities that are ced to live right next to this is one of the issues we have been bringing drought the year the social and environmental movements. Downe demanding they close coal plants by 2030. It is important to call attention that for example, one of the founders of cop25, is now retracting from investing into Renewable Energy in the plan for d carbon eyes and our energy g our energy. Now the crisis in chile is coming. Amy i want to talk toto you ina moment about your connecting activism with the arts. Tilde, i want to go to you in uganda. If you can talk about some of your family background that inspired you to become a climate activist. My family in uganda with the effects of Climate Change. Back then when i was still young. We did not know what we were facing was the effects of Climate Change. And you people did not know about that. Some people in uganda still do not know that the effects we are facing is because of Climate Change. Basically, the Climate Change is not taught in schools in uganda. We had a big plantation in the village. Me and my family used to travel to the village for parties and christmas season. Then. Re was a lot of food after some time, and kept on changing. The plantation started drying up. Amy your father was a farmer . Yes, and my grandfather. We had animals as well in the village. When the effects of Climate Change started showing up from our lives became very hard because we lacked d food to eat. Plantations were washed out by the heavy rains. And sometimes we had very little rainfall and a lot of sun. Temperatures were really increasing. Get pastors for the animals to feed. So my grandparents sold off most of the land. And part of the animals because we could not be them anymore. Then life started to get hard because we could not find food and water, so sometimes i had to go to school but my dad could not find money to pay for the tuition because we could not have anymore food to sell l or anymorore animalss left so i hao sit down for three months while my friends were at school. Is a, Climate Change personal issue. It affects us. Amy talk about how important it is for the u. N. Climate summit, which for a few years now has been held in the north, and the global north, to hear the Global Forces of the south like yours. Really i dont know what to say, but to me, as a person from the global south, i tonk it is right to be here speak to very many people, especially people in the global north who are also part of the people that are really causing so much affects to the Climate Crisis. Big issue for me to be here. I feel like maybe there is hope that after this summit, maybe people will change the way they live or people will have concrete actions toward the Climate Crisis. Amy finally, this issue of arts in resistance. In our music b break, we will py your sonong come angela. Talk about it and where you plan areerform it and why arts critical part of the resistance. Well, for ust to understand the crisis and dont lose hope. He can heal us and inspire us. We have had fantastic reports for years now telling us Climate Change and ecological breakdown is here. But art can really heal and nurture our resistance i think. I know the Extinction Rebellion as this rich narrative culture as part of their action as well, so i really feel this is key in order to continue the longterm in this movement. Amy explain the song. It thelly wrote name of the song was going to be i realized it was not a good name because, well, of course im against the markets. This is actually singing to the delegates that are writing all of these papers and for years have been writing convinced theyre not achieving. They are not actually transforming this into reality because every year we hit record emissions. It is also calling for the movement to become stronger and to raise our voice. It comes with lots of amy can you give us a few lines . Efore we lay that song would you mind singing a few . I would love to. [singing and foreign language] amy that is your singing name loica. Thank you for being with us. Angela valenzuela is a coordinator with fridays for future chile. We want to thank hilda Flavia Nakabuye, who is come from uganda, as founder of fridays for future in uganda. This is democracy now when we come back, we look at the anticorporate movement taking on the u. N. Cop this year, cop25. We are broadcasting from madrid, spain. Stay with us. [music break] amy hombre de papel sung and written by our guest Angela Valenzuela. Her artistic name is loica. She will sing that song during a coconcert afafter the climate mh today here in madrid at cop25. Democracy now is in madrid for the next week and we will be broadcasting throughout the week from inside and outside the u. N. Climate summit from the swedes to the corporate suites to the summit floor. Im amy goodman. A group of climate activists walked out of a panel at the u. N. Climate summit here in madrid on ththursday to ototest the presence of shshell, bp, and chevron. Representatives from the oil companieies were taking papart n evevent organizezed by the International Emissions trading association. Laurieie van der bururg of fries of the earth netherlands took part in the walkout. We do not think polluters like shell, like bp, likike chevron chevy at the cop influencing the climate talks here. So we covevered our ears and we walked out of the room to make a poinint to say shell should note at the cop, chevron should not be at the c cop. They are wrerecking our clclimae and d if we have these polluters here, we wont get down to 1. 5 degrees. Amy this comes as a Spanish Government is criticism facing criticism for reaching out to endesa, spains biggest polluter, to sponsor the u. N. Climate talks. Our next guest has been organizing toxic tours of madrid to expose the corporations and financiers driving the Climate Crisis. Pascoe sabido is a researcher and campaigner for the corporate europe observatory. Welcome back to democracy now it seems we see almost every year at these u. N. Climate the streetsr in thi were inside. It is shocking the fact that Companies Like shell, bp, and chevron, the very same culprit causing the Climate Crisis lets not forget, trashing communities and environments everywhere they go are here pretending to be part of the solution. What we heard was equally shocking. They are trying to turn forests, ecosystems of nature, into carbon markets. This is a disaster for all of us, especially when wewe want to keep temperature rises at a maximum of 1. 5 degrees. This is not feasible for that plan. The action itself was quite symbolic. We covered our e ears, made sure could not hear the rubbish that shall was spouting, and then walked out. This is not the only event shall is organizing. It is involved in multltiple events thrououghout the summit. This is one of many examples. Amy youve just come out with the report on the corporate sponsorship of the u. N. Climate summit. It came out today with corporate accountability. It shows in fact the biggest polluters are sponsoring these climate talks from fossil fuel companies, the bank that financed them, as well as me others like airlines. Not just thes biggest polluters using this huge greenwashing opportunity. You see their logos all over the cop. There also using this to influence the talks themselves to gain access to the negotiations through events, through cocktail parties, and other forms of access. This is year after year. The problem seems to get worse year after year that we have these companies complpletely wrwrapping t themselves in the colors of the u. N. , pretending to be green, while underneath there climate criminanals. Also what we showed in the report is last of these companies have been involved in huge human rights abuses and worker visas across latin america, which is underlinining you colonial neocolonial roots. A lot of these companies s from spainn are active in keeping those relationships going. Amy talk about the Electric Company cosponsoring the summit and what that means. It is the largest Greenhouse Gas emitter in spain . Completely. Endesa, produces electricity from coal, gas, and oil, spains biggest polluter when it comes to emissions. Projects, not in just here in spain, but also latin america. It is involved in gas production. Gas is as bad for the e climates cold and also hydroelectric, which has led to huge indigenous rights abuses and accusations of corruption. It is also joined by fellow Electric Company which for the last for years has been trying to give itself a green image. In our report in 2018, and produce more electricity from fossil gas that it did from wind and solar cocombined. The same goes for its investment last year. Two thirds went into new gas. Amy the Spanish Government took this project on in the last few weeks because chile canceled the summit. You are very critical of them turning to the biggest polluters to cosponsor the event. How do you think something as large as this, tens of thousands of people, coming into a community in the last few weeks, how could it be alternatively financed . We have to first go to who is financing a. Is that the corporations because the Spanish Government went to ththe 35 biggest l listed compas on the Spanish Stock Exchange and bebegged them m to sponsor,2 Million Euros each. Also a 90 tax break was given to these companies. It is the spanish taxpayer who is paying for these talks, paying f for the greenenwashingd paying for the lobbying access. These Companies Need to pay their taxes, that would be a great start, but we also think communities across the world, those who are these contributive to this problem contributing to this problem are paying for it. Theyre being robbed of receiving fossil fuel subsidies should be held liable for their actions and be made to pay. Amy right here at the u. N. Climate summit, do you see any improvements . The cop was held free times and poland, which could be called . The last one last year, that is the heart of coal land. The Convention Center where the Climate Summit was held was modeled on a coal mine stop yes. Amy you see any improvement . What t we do see is a bit moe fear. Here and spain what you see, big dirty Energy Copies pretending to be green. And does about the pages o of pretty much every y spanish newspaper to claim it is becoming a climate leader. What we are not saying is action, money on the table for countries and communitys that need to face consequences. Were not seeing Real Solutions oror ambition. Despite hundreds of thousands millions of people in the streets, theres a huge disconnect between what people are demanding, real solution, and what our governments are doing, keep listening to the same corporations. This base is a symptom of a bigger problem. The problem lies at a natitional level and our governments are in bed with the same corporations. Amy in spapain, the Spanish Government is also feel electric Companies Hundreds of millions s subsidiesn euros in to the company. International Monetary Fund estimates globally government subsidized the fossil fuel industry to the tune of 5. 2 trillion annually. That is massive. Amy what would that look like if that was subsidies given to wind, to solar, to thermal . If we hadd pay done this 10, 20 years ago, that would probably be enough. What we sing now is the amount needed for communities and countries already facing typhoons, droughts, fires, that is already covering that figure. If that figure with towoward cln energy, toward real renewable conservation, we could changnge ourr economic system. Unfortunately, our governments are not going to do so because that will really impact the bottom line of the same dirty energy companies. I want toe sabido, thank you for being with us. We will be taking a toxic tour with you tomorrow. We will go around madrid streets to the dirtiest Companies Involved in this cop starting at 1 15 at the Stock Exchange and madrid. Join us. Amy we will bring that to you next week. Pascoe sabido is a researcher and campaigner for the corporate europe observatory. That does it for our show. We will continue broadcasting from madrid all next week at the cop25. Imate summit, tell your friends and spread the word. That does it for our show. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by this is al jazeera. This is the al jazeera newshour, live from d doha. Coming up the governor of saudi arabia needs to make things better for these victims. A Saudi National opens fire in a classroom on a u. S. Naval base, killing three people and injuring 11 others. At least nine people are shot dead in iraq near a protest site in baghdad. , indias police areal